The Road to Forgiveness
by ashhead
Summary: Someone from Kate's past shows up on the beach, forcing her to make a difficult decision.


_Hey, usual disclaimer, I own nothing/make no money. I've not finished my other Skate fic yet (though I will) but this one has been bugging me. I know I said I'd do a Jate one, and I've got an idea for that, so I'll start that once this one is finished. This one is mostly Kate-centric, but with traces of Skate and Jate later on. Let me know what you think, reviews are always good._

When Sawyer came back, he was all Kate could see. She had been by his side for days, barely sleeping, starting at the slightest sound from him. The outside wasn't something she was interested in, Sawyer's health was the only thing that concerned her, she didn't want to know about anything else. Whilst it occurred to her that this obsession might be unhealthy, and whilst she could see how much it was hurt Jack, she didn't care. She'd watched too many of the people she loved slip away from her, she wasn't going to let Sawyer do that too. Not that she loved Sawyer, but she sure as hell wasn't happy about him dying.

This obsession was not entirely unwelcome however, it gave her a break from the outside world. Although she hadn't realised it, the real world had started to drag at her, so long it had been since she had ceased to be part of it, petty arguments driving her mad, and even friendly conversation more than she could handle. She knew that the world was ticking by outside of the hatch, and it was reassuring not to have to be part of it. She knew there were new people there, that one of them had killed Shannon, but it was so far away that it didn't seem to matter, all that mattered was that she was here with Sawyer.

But this lull was over. She had to go back out there, had to be helpful Kate, friendly Kate, the Kate who fetched all the food. She couldn't just be Kate anymore. And worse, she had to unwrap herself from Sawyer, separate herself from him before she did anymore damage. But that could be put off for a while, Sawyer was still healing, he still needed someone to help him, and even without any other intentions, she was the only one who was even remotely willing to help him.

Having already carried his stuff back to his tent, Kate was now helping him there, this trip taking at least twice as long as the others. Sawyer's footsteps were staggered, his muscles had grown unused to taking his weight, and the sand was making it worse. His arm was around her shoulder, leaning on her more than he would have liked, her arm around his waist, guiding him gently. The intimacy of this was something that both of them were aware of, but neither of them minded. It felt natural, easy, and even though Kate knew it devastated Jack to see them like this, she wasn't going to let go, not for anything.

When they finally reached the beach, after a number of stops, and after finishing both of the bottles of water, the sun was at its fiercest, beating down on the beach with a scorching heat. As she led Sawyer to his tent, Kate allowed herself to look around at the world she'd become part of. People were sat under shade, conversing about whatever crap was today's topic of interest, glancing at her and Sawyer suspiciously. Wandering down the beach were three women she didn't recognise, and Kate supposed they were survivors from the tale section of the plane. Their faces were obscured by the glare from the sun, not that that bothered Kate, she was perfectly happy to ignore them.

Settling down at Sawyer's tent, she looked at his sweat streaked body with concern, ignoring the hint of lust that inevitably went with a topless, sweaty Sawyer. This had been too much for him. She knew that it would be, but he was insistent. Exhaustion forced him onto the ground, inviting Kate to join him.

"Told you I could do it, didn't I?" The tiredness in his voice was smothered by his sense of triumph.

"Yeah, you did." Kate couldn't help but smile. Sawyer was happy, and that meant a lot to her. Reaching into her bag she tossed him a bottle of pills, "You should take another one of these."

Sawyer rolled his eyes, not that he was annoyed, but he had to keep pretences up. "So where's your stuff, Freckles?" The question was asked in a light tone, he knew what her response would be, but he wanted to ask anyway. He'd gotten used to sleeping near her, hearing her breath echo through the night, and he didn't want to let that go.

"The same place it always is Sawyer," she stressed his voice slightly, "In my tent." Sleeping in Sawyer's tent was probably the worst thing she could do, no matter how much she wanted to.

"Aw, come on Freckles, what if something happens to me in the night? What if I get cold?" The joke was there, but she knew that he meant it as well.

"You've got your ego for company, I'm sure that'll be enough." Sawyer looked slightly offended, but the laughter in his eyes was obvious.

One of the shorter strands of her that refused to be put back with the rest of it flickered across her face. It had been annoying her all morning, and she didn't bother to tuck it back, knowing it would only come out again in five minutes. It had been annoying Sawyer all morning too, his hands itching to catch it. Noticing that she made no effort to put it back into place, he let his fingers catch it, marvelling at how warm and soft it was in his callused hands. He brushed his fingertips across her cheek as he tucked the strand of hair behind her ear, noticing how her eyes never left his. Her lack of resistance gave him the briefest hint of hope, and he kept his hand on her cheek for a second, silently willing her to kiss him.

For a moment, he eyes clouded, and Sawyer actually believed she was going to kiss him. But their peace was interrupted by a voice so full of hatred and derision that Sawyer had difficultly understanding how it remained so quiet. "He's sweet Katie. When were you planning on killing him?"

Kate swirled round, but too slowly, finding her mouth filled with sand. Spitting it out, she jumped up, prepared to meet her attacker, ignoring the slow trickle of blood down her cheek where just a second ago Sawyer's fingers had nestled.

Three women faced her: one with long dark hair and an aggressive sneer written all over her face; a blonde woman who looked somewhat less threatening, but still not pleasant; and the last woman that Kate had ever expected to see. "Mom?"


End file.
